Importance of social media to audiobook narrators or anyone in today's world.

1. Importance of Social
Media for
Audiobook Narrators
Chris Carvey | @Chrisdigital
info@chriscarvey.com

2. How Big is the Web?
 79% penetration is US population
 As of last year there are 2.3 billion Internet users
worldwide
 Mobile access continues to increase, smartphone clients
(Web-enabled) will dominate in coming years
 Buying and hiring decisions are increasing influenced
by Web searches, user ratings, online validation
 These trends will make an impact on every profession

3. Create a “Me” Online
“Hiring managers and executive recruiters already
routinely use Google and online social networks to
evaluate potential candidates. As the hiring process
evolves from posting job openings to seeking out ideal
candidates, virtual visibility will become more critical
to securing the perfect position. This will force all
professionals proactively to build their brands online
and bolster them in the real world.”
-William Arruda, Forward of Me 2.0 Build a Powerful
Brand To Achieve Career Success By Dan Schawbel

4. “Social media” is just as big
and confusing.

5. Know your target.
“Identify the people in your industries who always seem to be
out in front, and use all the relationship skills you've acquired
to connect with them. Take them to lunch. Read their
newsletters. In fact, read everything you can. Online, there are
hundreds of individuals distilling information, analyzing it,
and making prognostications. These armchair analysts are the
eyes and ears of innovation. Now get online and read, read,
read. Subscribe to magazines, buy books, and talk to the
smartest people you can find. Eventually, all this knowledge
will build on itself, and you'll start making connections others
aren't.”
― Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to
Success, One Relationship at a Time

6. World is going backwards,
as it speeds to the future.
 Old school business ideals are making a comeback.
 Relationships are important.
 Networks are important.
 Referrals are important.
 Opportunities to get out and shake hands are important.
 Integrity and character are important.
 Personality, individualism, passion are premium.
 Social media is a tool to do due diligence and “dig deeper.”

7. Take baby steps.
1. Find your audience, then plan strategy.
2. Refine. Keep your plan manageable.
3. Identify personalities, leaders, goals. Work your plan.
4. Use social media “dashboard tools”:
Tweetdeck.com, Hootsuite.com, Seesmic.com, Aim.com
5. Simply posting with RSS feeds:
Feedburner.com, RSS Graffiti

8. Audiences: Who might be
looking for you online
 Publishers
 Producers
 Fans
 Agents / management
 Colleagues / referrals
 Others of interest, strategic partnerships

9. Translation: Opportunity is
looking for you online
 New gigs, projects
 Speaking appearances or event invitations
 Requests for expertise and collaboration
 Areas to refine your brand
 Break into new markets
 Develop “touch points” for fans
 Make an impression or reinforce positives
 Build your audience, followers, email list subscribers

10. Why are they looking for you?
Audience conversations : Have a response
 Who are you?
 Why should I care?
 Should I hire you?
 Can you do the job? Character? Right tone or tenor?
 Will we get along?
 Who has worked with you?
 Is this person passionate about what they are doing?

11. Social media can help
 Efficient PR channels
 You control a sustained presentation of a public image
 Showcase what you’re up to
 Highlight projects and collaborators, peer to peer
validation
 Testimonials, case studies, fun project notes
 Offer context and methods for visualizing you in roles
 Awards and honors

12. Case study No.1
 EmilyBauer.com

13.  EmilyBauer.com

14.  EmilyBauer.com

15.  EmilyBauer.com

16. Case study No. 2
 Simon Vance

17.  Simon Vance

18.  Simon Vance

19.  Simon Vance

20.  Simon Vance

21. Basic toolkit for social media
 Blog: Reverbnation.com, Blogger.com, Wordpress.com,
Tumblr.com, Posterous.com, Flavors.me, About.me, etc.
 Twitter
 Facebook pages
 Instagram.com, Hipstamatic.com, Flickr.com
 Soundcloud.com
 Youtube.com, Vimeo.com
 LinkedIn.com
 Meetup.com
 Pinterest
 Audible.com , Voices.com

22. Flavors.me About.me
 Temporary page with personality, impact of good photography
 Great for micro-blogging, linking to outside resources
 Online business card

23. State your case clearly.
Build your brand.
Curate community of supporters.
 You are being compared to your peers
 Best of best: 5 to 15 work samples depending on experience
 Show or discuss positive interactions with others
 Show support for others, team player, etc.
 Don’t be at the mercy of non-existent Web or social media
presence, allowing others to form a patch work image of you
 Demonstrate your skill level, take active role in your
personal brand

24. Avoid gotchas!
 Be positive, not critical
 Never criticize a client or company if it can be avoided
 Keep content fresh
 Avoid too much information and personal details, there are
real privacy and security concerns
 Don’t spam people with your promotions
 Acknowledge others when they are positive about you
 Ask audience what they are looking for, use surveys, Q&As,
don’t assume you know them
 Also caption photos, media, speak to specifics of role you
played on projects, share credits

25. Basic Website tips:
Baseline for optimum performance
 Avoid broken links
 Use a consistent brand, “look and feel”
 Clear navigation, if linking off site inform user
 Tailor your messaging, text, images to audience of choice
 Short and sweet with text, use headings, simple page layouts
 Use real text where appropriate, if graphic text use “alt” for SEO
 Current headshot, “visual” icon, monogram
 Showcase current work, work history, efficient audio samples
 Don’t make me work to find your contact information

26. Email:
info@chriscarvey.com
Twitter:
@chrisdigital
http://www.slideshare.net/chrisdigital